The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1887-07-14
a GUN SPIKED.
Neal Dow After a Tennessee
Senator.


B. F. Haynes, Dear Sir; Your note
of the 10th inst. is just received, in
closing a printed paragraph, said to
be q part of a speech OF State Senator
Hon. j. W. Sparks. 1t is:
"But l vii. pass ON now to 1875,
when Maine passed what was and is
now known as the Maine Law under
the leadership OF Neal Dow, and this
same man, Neal Dow, after figuring
in Prohibition in Maine and the
country ever since 1851, now says, or
has said recently in public speeches,
that the whole thing is failure, and
that Prohibition does not prohibit"
am not little surprised that "this
same man." ]. W. Sparks did not pro-
vide for n decent retreat from the
falsehood contained in the few lines
which you sent me. Ii Mr. Sparks
had said 81 am told so" or, "the
newspapers say So" he would have
escaped all responsibility for the lie.
But he says it is So Perhaps Mr..
Sparks may be surprised to learn
that ! never said that at any time or
anywhere. On the contrary, l have
said a thousand times in the news.pa-
pers, the magazines, and on the plat
form, that the Maine Law is now and
has been from the first a great success.
l. 1t has suppressed every distillery
and every brewery in the State; we
had many of them.
q 1t has swept clean OF the liquor
traffic more than three-iourths of the
State, containing more than three
fourths of our population, In all our
, rural districts, and our smaller towns
and Villages, the traffic in any form
is practically unknown An entire
generation has grown up there never
!, having seen a saloon, knowing moth
= ing Of the influences of places where
strong drink is sold. In Maine the
! ! word "failure" as applied to this law
!, is never heard from anybody, though
u we have many who do not like it MOI
! is it ever seen in any OF the news
= papers, except some that come to u'
. from New York, Ohio, Missouri
Chicago, Texas, Tennessee, and othel
places far away.
3. In 1884 after more than thirty
= years experience OF the blessings o
u Prohibition, our people put it int
y the costitution by majority Of AZ, ,075
y the affirmative vote being nearl,
three times larger than the negative
Il 4. Before the enactment Of the law
. Maine was said to be the poores
State in the Union, our people spend
u ing in drink the entire taxable proper
ty Of the State in every period OF les
% than twenty-five years, as the peopl
, of the nation are now doing in ever
" period of thirty-fye years.
III 5. Names share of the nationa
. drink bill would be now about thil
IL teen million dollars, but half millo
j will pay the cost of all the liquc
Il smuggled into the State, and sold i
%, violation of the law.
~ 6. Maine is now one of the mo-
q prosperous States in the Union. "
save directly more than twelve mi
''' lion dollars, and indirectly as muc
~ more in both cases annually, whic
- but for the Maine law would be spel
l'' and wasted in drink.
,,o y, z. In the old rum time, all ov'
IL the State, there were obtrusiye an
% offensive indications everywhere
:" poverty, dilapidation and decay. n
10 such symptoms of the liquor cur
- are seen nowhere.
70 8. Our industries are greatly mult
eh piled and extended, with abundal
" capital with which to conduct the
proftably. We have a great deal
~ outside capital seeking safe inveS
" ments in other States Before the Ia
oie we borrowed money of all who we
e0' 10 foolish enough to trust us; now v
-ne borrow of nobody, but lend largely
10 exchange for the securities of 9th
States, Tennessee being one of the
y as personally know.
al 8, Prohibition is accepted by
70 our people as the settled, fixed poll
lWs of the State. 1t can no more
ed. c changed than can our policy, OF ci'